There is a scene in The Simpsons that can be implemented in the Premier League that publishes its 2024-25 matches when there is a primary tournament.
The Springfield-based extended family watches TV with a new pack of puppies, and when one of the dogs puts its paws on the screen to cover a woman in a bathing suit, the family finds it hilarious.
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When Snowball, the attention-hungry cat, does the same, Papa Homer yells, “Take that cat!
Then. . . now, Premier League, we are going to watch the European Championship.
But until Georgia’s match against Turkey in a few hours’ time, we will have to avoid thinking about next season on the most sensible English flight, make plans for derby days and Christmas and, for conspiratorial minds, check who will play for their club (and where) after a European match during the week. And next season there will be more European matches than ever before.
GOING FURTHER
Manchester City Premier League 2024-25 Schedule
For fans of local rivals Manchester City, convinced that Pep Guardiola’s side only needed to show up to win one game and claim the title, there will be wonderful consternation at the state of their clash.
Once the teams return from next season’s last overseas break at the end of March and can at the end of the domestic campaign, City will face Leicester City (H), Manchester United (A), Crystal Palace (H), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (H), Southampton (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A).
A sense of helpless rage can already be felt as eager rivals chant for City’s Easter weekend at Goodison Park, hoping to make a mistake, only for Erling Haaland to score twice in the first thirteen minutes.
There are things that staff and enthusiasts want to worry about every time matches are released, although City have shown for years that whatever schedule comes their way, they will find a way to fix it.
For those wondering and worried, City will have a big domestic game just days after their first Champions League game: Arsenal at home at the end of September.
There is also a European match between the home game against Tottenham and the match against Liverpool at Anfield at the end of November.
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This was probably the most sensitive of the season for City. After the foreign break in November, they host Spurs, Liverpool, and then they have Nottingham Forest (H), Palace (A), Manchester United (H) and Aston Villa (A). ) until Christmas. And yes, there are some other Champions League between those meetings with Palace and United.
We will also have to get used to the new format of the Champions League; That mid-December European match has been a rubber stain for City at the end of the six-game stage, with a place in the next round already secured, but this time there will be two more games to follow, either at the end of January (Tuesday 21st/Wednesday 22nd and Wednesday 29th).
Between those European games seventh and eighth, City face Chelsea at home. Then, immediately after, comes Arsenal. Then Newcastle and Liverpool at home followed midweek to Tottenham, to take us to March.
So it gets quite interesting, and it will probably be at this point in the season that we will see why City don’t look alike, with a bit of luck suggesting that Kevin De Bruyne’s assists were highly unlikely to be updated and that Guardiola’s announcement of his departure at the end of the season turned the camp upside down.
Of course, we don’t know what next season will look like. City, of course, will be the favourites there, and many will expect them to win their fifth consecutive title, a remarkable feat indeed that would no doubt be toasted by enthusiasts around the world. the country.
Guardiola says – and he’s right – that there is no guarantee that his team will achieve a long unbeaten run. “Just because it happened before doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again,” he says, and that’s undeniably true. .
But they’ve done it so many times that there’s no one to blame for hoping it happens again: In five of their six seasons under him, they’ve won at least 12 games in a row, with the maximum being 18. in 2017. -18. Yes, the series that won the name last season consisted of “only” nine wins (although he had to prevent all nine because they had no more games to play), but the ethics of the story is that City do what they have to do, and if they didn’t foresee the same result next April and May, it would be a surprise. In any case, I speak now.
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But perhaps this is the season in which, despite everything, they lose strength, which would be absolutely general considering everything they have gained in recent years. Perhaps they have only drawn one of their last 10 games. Who knows.
By then, we’ll probably (hopefully) have known the results of City’s two legal battles with the Premier League, which could have an effect on the pitch and will indeed galvanize anger over deadlines and in boardrooms, regardless. of the final results.
But that’s why it’s always so good to get away from the occasional Premier League meeting and enjoy a major tournament abroad, where everyone joins their country.
Not so much this summer, though, as the maximum criticism of the England team, for example, is just extensions of the arguments that dictate the club’s online discourse about the season. The warlines this summer seem to have been drawn around Phil Foden, who is either a bad formula player or an incredibly misused player, depending on who you support.
City fans will naturally point out how clever Foden is, even if this may turn into a Jude Bellingham slander, which also proves unnecessary.
GOING FURTHER
How does England get the most out of Foden?Acting like Guardiola and taking advantage of his versatility
Surely the biggest frustration for those who have benefited from Ederson’s reassurance over the years is that England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford continues to throw long balls in a confusing direction to striker Harry Kane (who doesn’t even have wingers and/or attacking midfielders to back him up). for the moment balls).
Still, it’s great to disconnect from the club once in a while, so keep that chatter away from the TV screen a little longer.
(Top photo: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)